


The Season's Rain

by Bythoseburningembers



Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Ahsoka Tano-centric, Ahsoka is bad at processing emotions, Jedi secrets, Protective Anakin Skywalker, Rex is so tired of these people, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-02
Updated: 2019-12-02
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:55:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21644023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bythoseburningembers/pseuds/Bythoseburningembers
Summary: Set During A War on Two Fronts. Ahsoka and Lux engage in awkwardness, Anakin and Obi-wan spar over a ration bar like children, Rex is tired of these Jedi and their shit, and the Force reveals a well-known Jedi secret. Basically fluff because the clone wars always ends in disaster.
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker & Ahsoka Tano, CT-7567 | Rex & Ahsoka Tano, Lux Bonteri/Ahsoka Tano, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 24
Kudos: 429





	The Season's Rain

Seeing Lux again was akin to being dipped into a frothing, cold sea.

Ahsoka would know. She had done that multiple times. Mon Cala came to mind, actually. She recalled how quickly the waves had overwhelmed her, the chill that had enveloped the entirety of her spine.

Yep. Seeing Lux again was very much like _that._

Ahsoka had not expected to ever see Lux again after their last goodbye. That was the way of Jedi. While many Knights and Master’s had friends or allies spattered across the galaxy, more often they made connections and vanished the next rotation.

The incredible people and organizations she encountered in the war became inspirational memories. The only people she had daily and lasting communication with were her master and the clones. Ahsoka was well-versed in goodbyes.

Somehow, saying goodbye to Lux had felt… Different. More difficult. She and Lux were -could have been - a little more than mere friends, maybe.

Or… Maybe not? It was hard to tell. For the most part, she tried not to think about it. So when she and Anakin were asked into the Council chamber, she’d nearly tripped over her own two feet when his pinched face and blue eyes stared back at her via hologram.

_“Lux Bonteri, I believe you are acquainted with Padawan Tano,”_ Master Plo had intoned, with a hint of irony. Technically, Ahsoka had not been authorized to ever travel to Separatist space. But she had. And Master Yoda’s pointed stare had told her exactly why she and Anakin had been chosen to help the Onderon rebels.

_“Yes,”_ Lux had replied, looking just as surprised to see her there. _“We’ve met several times. It’s good to see you again, Ahsoka,”_ bowing her head to him had been strangely reminiscent of another time, when they had played at being a couple on Carthis. But she couldn’t very well think about that right then. Not when the Council had been so close.

She had believed that approaching him first would alleviate the uncertainty. Now, as patrolling the perimeter of the camp, she wasn’t so sure. “Remember your purpose,” Anakin had counseled, with that weird sparkle in his eye that Ahsoka had learned to interpret as affection. _He may as well have admitted to me he and Padme are a couple right there,_ Ahsoka thought with a small chuckle.

She tilted her head as a buzzing approached from her left. A small beetle with an outercasing the color of translucent seaweed landed on her shoulder. Ahsoka glanced around a final time. Dusk had long ago fallen. The other rebels tasked with guarding the perimeter would be out by now, in the trees and on the ground, watching for droids.

The beetle wandered around her shoulder for a moment, the tiny feet like feathers against her skin. Ahsoka giggled and offered it her finger for it to climb on. “Hello, little one,” she whispered, as she swiveled on her heel and started back to camp. “Can _you_ alert us when the droids are coming?”

“If he can, I’d like to see it happen,” Ahsoka inhaled a sharp breath. She had sensed his approach (she could always sense his approach) but she hadn’t expected Lux to _talk_ to her. He appeared from the shadows of the forest, quietly. The moon cast whitish shadows on his face, making his chestnut eyes look like the bottom of a deep pool.

Beautiful.

Ahsoka exhaled a calming breath. “Do you speak to animals now too?” Lux teased.

“Sometimes,” Ahsoka admitted, as she carefully set the beetle down against a green lead. It flittered in place, as if testing the leaf’s usefulness, before settling with a mild buzz. “I can sense their intentions, if it’s intelligent enough. This little guy is only looking for food.”

“It’s called a moonlight beetle,” Lux explained, watching it scuttle away. “Because of the shell, see?”

“A good name,” Ahsoka supposed, rubbing her arm. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. “How do you think training is going so far?” She asked. The Jedi had only been there for two rotations. She knew that Master Kenobi still had his doubts and Anakin was exhilarated by the challenge of untrained patriots. She was holding her opinion, for various reasons.

“Well,” Lux considered. He folded his hands behind his back, somehow managing to look almost like Master Kenobi when he was deep in thought. It was an amusing image. Ahsoka resisted the urge to smile as the twinkling fires of camp came into view. “I don’t know, really. I remember the stories you’ve told me about the clones, and meeting Rex, I can tell we have a long way to go before we’re actual soldiers,” he contemplated.

“Rex can be… A little intense,” Ahsoka agreed. “Remember, your kind of soldiering is going to be different from ours. We’re used to taking back planets by force. You’ll need to be a little more… discreet, shall we say? We’re only here to teach you foundations. You’ll become your own kind of soldier soon enough.”

She looked up to see Lux studying her, with something akin to sadness. The Force roiled. Her gut clenched. “What?”

“Nothing, nothing,” Lux assured her. “Well, it’s just… I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in this role, y’know? I know you’re a Jedi. That’s always been apparent to me, and I’d have to be a fool not to see how good you are, but… I suppose I’ve never really thought of you as a soldier.”

“Jedi are keepers of the peace,” Ahsoka recited, automatically. The words felt hollow, sat between them like hands upon glass. A goodbye.

“Don’t get me wrong., I appreciate the fact that you’re here,” Lux hurried to assure her. “It’s just… I don’t know. It’s always been you and me. Now, there are clones and rebels and Jedi and… I feel as if we’re different people.”

“Maybe we are,” Ahsoka breathed. Focus, Ahsoka, Anakin’s voice admonished in her mind. Ahsoka shoved him away because he had _a secret dalliance too, so shut up Anakin._ “Master Yoda says that we are only luminous beings, not gross matter. And luminous beings are layered. Multi-dimensional. Maybe we all have different people inside of us,” she shook her head. “But I’m still Ahsoka. I’m still your friend.”

“Yes,” Lux nodded. “But you’re also a Jedi. A soldier.”

“You don’t think they can exist at the same time?” Lux shifted feet uncomfortably, his usual candor vanished. Ahsoka arched a brow. She had seen many cultures which revered the Jedi as Gods or super-beings. She knew that lack of information meant most of the galaxy held them as… Separate. Aloof.

She was fine with that usually. It was kind of hard to explain being a Jedi to non-Jedi anyway. But Lux was her friend, or not friend or whatever. She wanted him to know her. She wanted him to understand.

“Come with me,” she said softly, as the edge of the camp came into view. At night, the hastily erected tents and crumbling buildings looked the jaws of a monster, jutting from the ground around them. The only signs of life were the snuffles of animals, quiet fires of dinner and small scuffles of laughter.

Lux followed her across the lifeless courtyard. The Jedi had claimed a small tent near the back of the encampment. Master Kenobi’s idea. He wanted to remain as unobtrusive as possible, make it so that the rebels did not grow accustomed to their presence.

Which… Probably wasn’t helping matters.

“Hey!” She sensed Saw before he appeared from the shadows, arms crossed. A moment later, Steela peered over his shoulder. When she saw Ahsoka, she scowled. Ahsoka schooled her expression into disinterest, even if Steela’s vibrant dislike also made her skin crawl. Ahsoka knew where it came from. Yet she had rarely ever been the object of romantic jealousy before. “Where are you two headed?” Saw asked, his voice pitched perfectly between suspicion and genuine curiosity.

Lux, behind her, shrugged. “You’re welcome to join,” Ahsoka called over her shoulder instead of answering. _We may as well invite half the camp_ , she contemplated. _It would be good for them to realize that soldiers are people too. Give them the strength to know its something they can become._

“But _where_ are we going?” Saw repeated, even as he and Steela fell into line beside Lux.

“I’ve learned that with Jedi, it’s sometimes better just to do as they say,” Lux advised them, a smile in his voice.

“ _Commander_ Tano indeed,” Saw chuckled under his breath. Ahsoka resisted the urge to roll her eyes. But only barely. Master Kenobi would be proud.

Speaking of which… It looked as if Rex had a fire going. He was seated on a small piece of broken building, one leg thrown over the other. He’d discarded his protective helmet as he stared down at a map of Onderon, eyes flicking to and fro. He would have genius ideas by morning.

Across from him, Anakin and Obi-wan were in the middle of sparring. As usual. They had locked sabers, apparently, and now moved in a slow circle, lightsabers sparking in the middle, eyes never leaving their opponent. Steela and Saw halted, wary. Ahsoka stopped outside their small circle.

“Masters? May we join?” She called. Rex looked up, surprised. He scowled when he noticed her company; but remained silent.

“Course, Snips,” Anakin replied, without breaking stance or eye contact with Obi-wan.

“Snips?” Steela asked when she motioned for them to take a seat by the fire. The three rebels noticeably traveled as far away from the lightsabers as possible. Ahsoka snickered and propped herself up on a log next to Rex to watch.

“My nickname,” she explained. “Long story. What’re the stakes this time Rex?” Saw stared with open-mouthed fascination as Anakin moved, just slightly, and was promptly parried. The whirring sapphire light shone in his awe-struck eyes. Their lightsabers moved in a quick succession of practiced jabs and lunges, spitting and hissing, before they locked blades again and continued their slow dance.

“The last flavored nutrient bar, commander,” Rex drawled.

“What?” Lux demanded, as entranced as Saw and Steela. “You’re saying they’re fighting over who gets the last flavored nutrient bar?”

“The government issued ones are disgusting. They taste like raw meat,” Ahsoka defended. “There are flavored ones given out every quarter, but only so many. We were almost out a week ago because we like to give the injured first dibs. It’s a serious matter. Besides,” she waved a hand at the sparring match. “This isn’t fighting. You’ve seen me fight, Lux. This is…” She struggled for the right word.

“Play,” Rex supplied helpfully. She waved a hand at him.

“Play,” she agreed.

“With glowing swords of death,” Steela clarified.

“What do those flavored bars taste like, anyway?” Saw demanded, flinching as Obi-wan suddenly swooped beneath their lock, the only sign of his movement a flash of blade and whoosh of air. Anakin somersaulted over his hit, landed and blocked a swipe without turning.

He swiveled, cast his saber in a wide arc of warning. Ahsoka smiled and folded her palms on her stomach. She had been trying to perfect that move herself for weeks. It was a bit harder with a shoto, but doable. She sent a brief wave of gratitude to Anakin for the illustration.

“The flavored ones aren’t good either. Now you see what I have to deal with,” Rex mumbled.

“You love us, Rex,” Ahsoka teased. His expression didn’t change outwardly, but she sensed his sharp flare of amusement.

“If you say so, commander,” he mock-growled.

“I can sense you smiling.”

“How do you even _make_ those things?” Saw demanded, still watching the match.

“The lightsabers?” A nod. “It’s different for each individual. A lightsaber is… Unique. Special to that one Jedi. If you look at the shaft properly, you’ll see they all have a different design.”

“Could I pick it up and use it?” Saw wondered devilishly. Ahsoka wondered whether she should answer that or not.

“You can try,” Rex snorted, still not looking up from his map.

“You gotta story you wanna share Rex?” Ahsoka snickered. Rex glared at her from the corner of his eyes. Then he sat up, sniffing.

“People like us can use the saber,” he informed the rebels. “It isn’t hard. There’s a button to activate and deactivate it. It’s lightweight and sleek. Good balance. But it’s… Difficult to yield,” he pursed his lips thoughtfully, then flipped out his blaster from his waist.

He showed it to the rebels, turning it with slow practiced hands. “Not like this. It’s like the lightsaber has a mind of its own. And that blade is terrifying. I’ve seen them carve through solid metal and rock before. Having it anywhere near you is like holding a live grenade. You can feel the power and intensity in it.”

“Have you ever used one?” Lux wondered. Rex gave a shrug.

“Once or twice,” he replied. “For self-defense. When the generals are down, and it’s the only weapon around, but the blaster is still my preferred weapon.” He stashed it away, ducking when a Force push shoved Obi-wan over his head. He landed on his feet easily, a deadly smile on his face. The Force danced around them, playful, challenging, the lifelong practice of close and old friends.

Ahsoka wondered if everyone could feel it. She had never grown up with family dinners, but she had _this._ She had nights where she sat by the fire, heard the low conversations of the clones and the comforting hum of sabers, the warm glow of focus in the Force, and fallen asleep as deeply as if she were being rocked in a crib. This was her home.

“I should think the Jedi would get more supplies than anyone,” Saw said. Rex snorted just as Ahsoka tensed.

“You overestimate the Republic’s coffers.” Rex, who had an eye for economics, told them with no little bitterness. “Even if the Senate did give the Jedi more, I’ve rarely come across one who wouldn’t just hand over the resources to those in need.”

“It’s mine!” Anakin suddenly shouted, halfway between a yelp and a laugh. Ahsoka tore her eyes from Lux’s enchanted eyes to stare. Now, things were getting exciting. Anakin had somehow grabbed Obi-wan’s wrist, and was trying to angle their sabers downward, toward his leg. In a moment, Obi-wan would have to yield or lose a limb.

He didn’t look at all intimated. The older master just grinned, and suddenly _dropped_. Anakin gasped and swiveled away to avoid beheading his own master. “Hey!” Anakin yelled, interspersed with Huttese curses. “No fair!”

Obi-wan twirled the saber in a wide arc around his body, a trick taught to the youngest crechelings. “Expect the unexpected, Anakin,” he advised, nonplussed.

“What, I’m supposed to know that you’re crazy?”

“You’ve known me long enough.”

“Fine,” Anakin decided, copying the lazy swirl of his master. Ahsoka smiled. _Do you know you both stand the same way?_ She projected.

_He copies me,_ was the instant reply from Anakin. Ahsoka snorted dubiously, because of course.

_Focus, Padawan. Watch and learn._

“They’re talking to each other,” Rex informed the uneducated among them, watching. Ahsoka stared at him, startled by the insight. “In the Force.”

“They can do that?” Steela didn’t sound very confident.

“Ahsoka has told me about it,” Lux volunteered eagerly. “It isn’t talking, per se. It’s more like projecting feelings and assumptions?” He looked to her for verification, like an excited student. Ahsoka smiled and nodded.

“Sometimes, its words,” she admitted.

“Told you. _Talking_ ,” Rex sighed. “The commander has a certain look in her eye when it happens.”

“I do not!”

“We need to work on your poker face, Snips,” Anakin growled. He suddenly _thrust_ Obi-wan backward, stalked toward him like a rolling thunderstorm. The Force coiled around him, a tsunami of power gaining strength. His eyes, dark blue in the firelight, sparked with competitiveness. When on the other end of that look, Ahsoka had to admit that she almost always felt a tremble of nervousness.

She had never felt such raw… Strength in the Force until meeting Anakin. Most of the time, he kept it on a tight leash. Then there were times like this. And these times, she was warily reminded that she was not only apprentice to Anakin Skywalker, the oldest initiative and youngest Knight to ever grace the order, but the Chosen One of prophecy.

If Master Kenobi felt the same, he never showed it. He only bared teeth in an answering spark of enjoyment. Where Anakin was a thunderstorm, Obi-wan was an ambush predator. He curled into himself, spread his body like a colar across the ground, saber hissing, a snake waiting in the grass.

They met in a clash, lightning arching up to strike the thunderstorm. Then they were just a boiling tornado of movement and strikes. Ahsoka felt her heart skip a beat in response to the sheer speed and intensity of it. She tried to keep track of the techniques, but they blended seamlessly into each other. There were pieces of Makashi and Ataru from Obi-wan, Vapaad and Soresu from Anakin.

Others she didn’t yet know and _why_ had Anakin been holding out on her? Ahsoka rolled out of the way when they collided with the log she was sitting on. “Padawan in the crossroads here!” She reminded them.

“Sorry!” Anakin and Obi-wan replied in a breathless unison.

Ahsoka plopped down beside Steela. “Masters Skywalker and Kenobi are some of the greatest swordsmen in the Order,” she told them proudly. “ _Jedi Masters_ will come watch them spar in the Temple.”

“It’s breathtaking,” Steela breathed. “Beautiful, even. How long does it take to learn all that?” Ahsoka shrugged.

“Lifetimes.”

“Oh man!” Saw cried when Anakin was finally disarmed. His lightsaber clattered to the ground, spattered back into its protective casing. The crystal inside sang. Obi-wan leveled his saber at her master’s throat, chest heaving.

“I’m… Getting… Too old for… This,” he gasped, a droplet of sweat running down his face. “Rex?” Rex reached into his back pocket and drew forth the revered item of their desire. He held up the wrapped bar, and Ahsoka saw a flash of pinkish plastic covering the small treat. Her heart skipped a beat.

_Croiberry?_

She _loved_ croiberry bars.

“Yours, General Kenobi. Congrats, sir,” Rex called, as he tossed the bar Obi-wan’s way.

Ahsoka’s montrals vibrated. She felt her predatory instincts hum. “Watch this,” she told Steela with a slap on the shoulder. Using the Force to propel her, she suddenly lunged and snatched the bar mid-air.

She landed a few feet away, already tearing the wrapper open. Rex snorted a genuine laugh while the rebels applauded. A shadow suddenly tackled her from the left, a strong mechno-arm around her stomach and _squeezing_ as she was lifted from her feet. “Give it to me, Snips!” Anakin hissed, trying to overpower the bar from her fingers. 

“This is my favorite kind!” She squawked, wriggling.

“So? I tried to win it fair and square!” Anakin cried, as they collapsed into the dirt. Ahsoka corkscrewed free for a moment, only to be pulled back down with a rough force hold.

“And you lost!”

“From which fairness dictates that it is technically mine,” Obi-wan observed, arms crossed as he watched them struggle.

“I’m your favorite Padawan, though, right master?” Ahsoka pointed out, throwing the bar into the air. Anakin released her quickly to dive after it, but he was heavier, and Ahsoka quicker. She catapulted herself off his shoulders, nabbing the bar before it even reached peak descent. 

“I suppose that’s true,” Obi-wan chuckled.

“Oh, so you’re in League with each other then?” Anakin growled. Unfortunately, he calculated her landing and caught her the second she was within reach. Ahsoka started to stuff the bar into her mouth, but quick fingers along her sides and ribs halted her mid-bite.

“Ah! S-stop it!” She giggled. Damn it. He knew her ticklish spots. Fine. If she couldn’t have it, then neither could he. “Mast-ter Kenobi!” She cried, tossing it back to the original winner.

“Oh come on!” Anakin yelled, throwing his hands up.

Obi-wan smiled and started to raise a hand to accept it, but suddenly the bar swerved right into the grasp of Rex. The clone captain unhooked the croiberry bar from the tiny grapple he had used to snare it from the air; and popped the entire thing into his mouth without blinking.

Anakin and Ahsoka both gaped. Obi-wan scowled.

“Rex,” he scolded.

“Sorry, general, but us non-Force sensitives need to use trickery to get what we want around here,” Rex replied, somehow managing not to sound apologetic at all.

Obi-wan’s severe expression softened into amusement. “Fair enough,” he supposed. He sat down on Ahsoka’s abandoned log, legs crossed in meditation pose.

“Well,” Anakin sighed, dropping her with a last vicious pinch of the ribs. “At least Obi-wan didn’t get it.” She skulked back to Steela’s side, glaring at him over a shoulder.

“Is this what you all do during your free time?” Steela asked, patting the seat next to her amiably. It was the greatest sign of friendship she had extended thus far. Ahsoka took it with a nod of thanks.

“I thought it would be more…. Planning our next steps.”

Anakin gestured to the camp. “You all _are_ our plan,” he told them confidently. Saw bared his chest proudly. Steela gave a resolute nod, but from Lux there was a spike of apprehension in the Force.

“But… Is there a more in-depth one?” Lux peeped. Anakin glared at him.

“If there is, Master Kenobi has it,” Ahsoka assured him. All eyes swiveled to the eldest Jedi in the assembly. From the recesses of wherever he hid them, he had nabbed a holo-pad and was perusing the contents diligently.

“If we need it, I have one. If we need it,” he assured them.

“And it is…?”

“ _If_ we need it.”

Lux looked displeased but nodded assent. Ahsoka felt her stomach clench. She knew the plan. It was to abandon the planet, taking the rebel leaders with them to save them from execution at Separatist hands. She doubted that illuminating Lux would make him feel better or confident in their skills.

“Speaking of plans, however,” Obi-wan continued, calmly. He tapped a few times at the data-pad, squinted into the light. “Have you finished your studies, Padawan?” Ahsoka nodded.

“I finished them before we left the cruiser, master,” she sat up as something occurred to her. “Wait, are you grading my essay right now? How did I do?”

“You have _homework_?” Saw gasped, as if she had just confessed to having been tortured. Which, that was a conversation for a different day. “You’re fighting a war!”

“ _And_ I’m passing all of my classes,” Ahsoka agreed.

“Of course you are,” Lux huffed with a laugh.

“Hmm,” Obi-wan replied. Ahsoka deflated.

“I was passing all my classes _before_ Master Kenobi read my paper,” she corrected.

Anakin leaned over Obi-wan’s shoulder; and arched his brows. “Way to butcher your grammar, Snips,” he snorted.

“I have perfect grammar!” Anakin and Obi-wan both looked up. Ahsoka crossed her arms defensively. “Fine. I had Barriss look over my paper and _Barriss_ has perfect grammar. She would never have let me down.”

“Hmm.”

Ahsoka threw her hands up in defeat. “I _tried_ , Master Kenobi, ok?”

“No one’s going to address the fact that the person who just flipped twenty feet in the air for a flavored bar and has fought countless droids on unknown pockets of the galaxy does _homework_?” Saw repeated, looking around. Rex just shrugged. Steela looked similarly intrigued. Lux shook his head.

“The ways of the Jedi are strange,” he agreed.

“What happens when you’re on campaign for months at a time?” Saw demanded.

“I do my homework,” Ahsoka insisted. “And I’ve seen Master Kenobi grade papers with broken bones and punctured organs.”

“Jedi training is multi-faceted. We were never meant to be soldiers,” Obi-wan explained. “When I was an apprentice-”

“Back when most civilizations were still stationed in caves,” Anakin clarified for the general audience. The rebels snickered. Rex’s mouth tilted into a half grin. Obi-wan waved a dismissive hand.

“Jedi were keepers of the peace. We studied diplomacy and power structures. The types of fighting style you just saw weren’t taught as anything but self-defense and relics of a distant past. We had time and the ability to study for long hours. Students learned an average of twelve languages. War has changed many things, but we try not to let it change our quest for knowledge.”

“So how did I do on my essay?” Ahsoka insisted.

Anakin elbowed Obi-wan gently. “C’mon, master, don’t keep her waiting. Tell her she failed and have done with it…” He said, because he was a chosski. So Ahsoka smacked him behind the head with a frond. “Ow!” He laughed.

“Aren’t you supposed to be encouraging me, _master_?!” She hissed.

Anakin shook his head fondly. “Ahsoka, the classroom isn’t everything,” he began. Had they not had guests, Ahsoka would have rolled her eyes. She had heard _this_ one before.

“Easy for you to say,” she quipped. “Master Kenobi doesn’t grade _your_ essays anymore.”

“He just critiques every other part of my life instead,” Anakin agreed in a drone. Obi-wan made another mark to her paper, serenely.

“And if you ever listened to my critiques or had you ever finished your homework, Anakin, you would realize that the only reason I was able to win in that spar was because your footing was off the entire time,” he counseled. Anakin gave a start as if slapped. Ahsoka snorted.

Rex wisely stayed out of it.

“I… What?” Anakin demanded. “How? Show me.”

“I can’t. I’m _critiquing_ your Padawan’s near perfect essay,” Obi-wan drawled, a lilt of teasing in his voice. Ahsoka sat up at that, smiling.

“Near perfect? So I passed?”

“Yes, Ahsoka…” Obi-wan sighed, as if it had been obvious all along and she hadn’t been paying attention and that was such an Obi-wan thing to do that Ahsoka couldn’t even stay angry at him.

“Ha! Yes!” She shrieked.

“But you would be wise to work on your grammar.”

Some things needed to be conceded. Ahsoka inwardly shrugged. “I will, master. Every day,” she promised. Obi-wan’s smile was bright in the darkness around them.

“I know you will.”

“How can you even sit there and tell me my footwork was bad?” Anakin continued to grumble, staring at his feet as if they were the source of all his woes. _“You_ taught me footwork.”

“You three sound like our family, when we would argue at the dinner table,” Steela said softly. Saw wrapped an arm around her shoulders. It didn’t need to be said that their families were gone.

“Mine too,” Lux agreed. He closed his eyes, his grief still a newborn thing in the Force. Ahsoka reached over, instinctively, her own heart twisting in response. Anakin’s eyes tracked her like a hawk.

“Your mother would be proud of you,” she told him softly. Her eyes dipped to encompass the other rebels. “Your families would be proud of all of you,” she said.

“They’d say we were insane,” Saw snorted, with no small amount of bitterness.

“I tell Anakin that all the time,” Ahsoka reassured them. “It’s just affection.”

“Ah, thanks Snips,” Anakin chuckled.

“Do Jedi even have families?” Steela wondered.

“Not conventionally…” Obi-wan began with the Order sponsored lecture. Anakin rolled his eyes. Lux interrupted, leaning back on his log and gesturing to them with a smile. 

“What do you think?” He asked. “They just fought over a protein bar.”

Anakin made a thoughtful noise in the back of his throat. “I guess you could say we’re like a family,” he agreed. “After all, Obi-wan practically raised me.”

“I have the gray hairs to prove it,” Obi-wan mumbled.

“What was that, master?”

Obi-wan looked up with wide, innocent eyes. “Oh, nothing, Anakin.” Ahsoka snickered. Rex shook his head, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth again.

“Whatever you want to call us, we’re a team first and foremost,” she clarified. Five sets of eyes swiveled to hers, and Ahsoka felt the truth of her own words ring in the Force. “That’s why I brought you here. We’ve fought many battles together, the four of us,” she gestured to her mentors, her friends. The only family she had ever known beyond the Temple. The one she chose every time she stepped onto the battlefield. She locked eyes with Lux.

“I’m a Jedi. I’m a soldier. But that doesn’t mean I’m still not your friend. We’re a team, and on the battlefield, sometimes that will save your life quicker than anything else you might be,” Steele and Saw blinked. Confusion laced with admiration roiled sluggishly in the Force. Reluctantly, from Steela.

Anakin’s eyes softened in the way they did when he recognized… Someone in her. Someone he had never mentioned but whose presence still wafted off him in softer moments.

She pretended to glare. “I’m still mad about _my_ protein bar,” she informed him.

Anakin waved a dismissive hand. “Ah, I’ll get you another,” he promised.

“Well spoken Padawan,” Obi-wan praised warmly. Ahsoka dipped her head, cheeks flaming. She was not entirely sure where the speech had come from, but she was glad the Force had sent its message through her. Anakin’s words echoed in her mind.

_“Remember: purpose.”_

Perhaps she had arrived here with many purposes. “Yeah,” Lux agreed. He dipped his head to her, and Ahsoka had to squash the instinctive lurch in her chest from his appreciative gaze. “Thanks, Ahsoka.”

“Anytime,” she chirped.

“Preferably earlier next time?” Obi-wan suggested pointedly. He nodded to the horizon, where the sky had just begun to accept glimmers of sunlight. “Dawn will be upon us soon. We should all get some rest.”

“You’re right,” Steela yawned, standing. She stretched her arms above her head. Saw staggered to his feet with a groan. “Thanks for staying up with us, generals, commander, captain. We appreciate it.”

“Please tell me you Jedi also sleep,” Saw begged. “I’ll be jealous otherwise.”

“They sleep,” Rex reported. “But they can come awake like a coiled spring. Creepy.”

“Rex, I’m getting the impression that you believe yourself somewhat of an expert on Jedi,” Anakin observed. Rex only shrugged. Lux followed Saw and Steele back towards the buildings, glancing over his shoulder.

“Goodnight, all,” he whispered. “Thank you again.” Ahsoka just waved, pleased enough to watch him walk away. He had a slight swagger to him, an elegance that belied the softness of his….

“Alright, you,” Anakin interrupted her thoughts with a poke in the side. Ahsoka slapped his hand away. “Obi-wan has first watch. You need some rest too.”

She looked up. Obi-wan gave her a nod. “Go on, all of you. We only have a few hours. You know that war waits for no one.” Yes, she did. Anakin leapt over Obi-wan’s debris seat and leaned more snuggly against it, ankles crossed, shoulder tucked against Obi-wan’s knees.

Rex set his map aside and grabbed his blasters, holding them possessively as he curled up on the opposite side. Anakin extended a hand to her. Ahsoka didn’t need words to settle at his side, so close their shoulders touched. She rested one hand on her saber, the life and legacy she had chosen, and the other on her stomach. Anakin’s real arm wrapped round her head, gently, a soft but steady cushion between her montrals and the hard metal. Once, she may have been too proud to accept this small token of affection.

But, like The Force had revealed, they were somewhat of a family.

Proven once more when Obi-wan draped his cloak over the two of them with a slight smile and nod. Then he returned to staring into the darkness, eyes vigilant. “Night generals,” Rex called.

“Mm,” Anakin murmured back. His eyelids were already fluttering shut, sleep a heavy blanket atop him. Ahsoka assumed Master Kenobi had probably mind-tricked him into it. She yawned and snuggled closer to his welcome warmth.

Meanwhile, a beetle scuttled safely into the vastness of somewhere, safe and glowing.


End file.
